GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah baseball team swept a home doubleheader over conference foe Stevenson University on Friday afternoon. The Falcons won in walk-off fashion in Game One, edging the Mustangs 4-3, and completing the sweep in the second contest, 4-0, behind a complete-game shutout from Josh Monturo. Clayton Roberts was the hero in Game One, tying the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when Messiah was down to its final out, and providing the game-winning RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning to clinch the victory.
Roberts tallied a game-high two RBI in Game One, upping his season total to eight. Sam Zercher contributed a 2-for-3 performance in the second game, notching a game-high two RBI with two doubles.
Monturo's complete game was the second of his season, the first time of his career not giving up a run while going the distance, earning his second win of the season. With the strong performance on the mound, the junior pitcher leveled his 2021 record to 2-2.
Game One
Luke Luckenbaugh made the Game One start for the Falcons, looking for his third win of the season. The senior pitched five strong innings, allowing three runs on six hits, striking out a batter.
The Mustangs got on the board first in the top of the second inning, taking advantage of a two-out Messiah throwing error to take a 1-0 edge. The Falcons had a prompt answer in the bottom half of the frame, as Colt Price scored Trent Culver on a sacrifice fly to left field, leveling the game, 1-1. In the following at-bat, Dylan Symonds tallied his third RBI in as many games, plating Thomas Murray on a base hit up the middle. After two frames, Messiah led Stevenson, 2-1.
In the top of the third inning, Alex Kidwiler, the conference-leader in batting average, cranked a first-pitch fastball over the right-center field to tie the game, 2-2. The Mustangs tacked on another run in the top of the fourth, taking a 3-2 lead after a run-scoring single to center field.
Messiah threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but were unable to scratch the game-tying run across home plate. From that point on, the Falcons' offensive was stagnant until they were down to their final out. Jarod Bingaman and Jorge Zambrano III worked consecutive walks, as a Roberts RBI-single to center field plated Bingaman, tying the game at 3-3. Culver was intentionally walked, giving Reed Wagner a pinch-hit opportunity to walk it off for Messiah. Stevenson's Malcom Edelin prevailed on the mound, striking Wagner out. After a two-out rally, Game One was headed for extra innings.
The game remained tied at 3-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, when Derek Freed led off the frame with a triple down the right-field line. Bingaman was intentionally walked, as Zambrano followed with a strikeout. The table was set for Roberts, who provided another clutch hit, a walk-off single up the middle to clinch Game One for the Falcons, 4-3.
Christian Woodie, who pitched a complete game shutout on Saturday, provided four scoreless innings of relief for the Falcons, earning his second-consecutive win on the bump.
The extra inning victory improves Messiah's record to 11-14-1 (9-13-1 MAC Commonwealth) ahead of Game Two.
Game Two
Josh Monturo toed the slab in Game Two for the Falcons, entering the contest with a 1-2 record. Monturo made his fifth start of the season, arguably being the most impactful start of his career.
The Falcons got off to a fast start offensively, cashing in two runs on a double to deep left field by Sam Zercher. The two-run double scored Roberts and Culver, giving Messiah a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Monturo faced the minimum through the first four innings, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit. The hit came from Billy McAdam, who was picked-off on first base by a smooth move from Monturo.
Messiah tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning, extending the advantage to 3-0 on an RBI-groundout from Derek Freed. The run-scoring plate appearance was Freed's ninth RBI of the season.
The bottom of the fifth inning was highlighted by a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play. Monturo got Sam Ferreira to go down swinging for his fourth strikeout of the game, as Symonds threw out McAdams trying to steal second. With the electric double play, Monturo had still faced the minimum through five frames.
The Falcons added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on one hit, taking advantage of a costly Mustang throwing error. Monturo closed the door in the bottom of the seventh inning as Messiah clinched the doubleheader sweep, winning Game Two, 4-0.
The doubleheader sweep improved the Falcons overall record to 12-14-1 (10-13-1 MAC Commonwealth).
What's Next
Messiah will be back in action in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Seeding and opponents will be released early next week, be sure to check GoMessiah.com for the most up-to-date information
